Sadness

There was a sadness in her eyes

That had never been there 

A weariness drawn from long days

Weeks

Months

The light in her eyes subdued

Not certain if extinguished 

Or just veiled by the weight of life

Still the beauty she had always been

But not the same person

Not the same woman

Her soul just a little bit less

This sadness did not surround her

Nor did it eminate from her

It was as if it just followed her

Reminding her of the weight of life

And loss

And love 

And somehow dimming the glow

Which had carried her for so long 

©johnfklee

Melt

You melt me

She said

From deep within

You melt me

My heart 

Which had grown cold

My soul

Like ice

Hardened

You melt me

And then 

You put me back together 

©johnfklee

Right now

It's a balancing act that we must endeavor to live. Shut ourselves off from the world and "protect" ourselves or open ourselves up to the benefits and of the rest of the world. Live in our own world with our own threats or live in The world and open ourselves to the threats of the world. 

I am not picking a side right here; I change my position by the minute but right now, I want to hunker down and protect my family. 

©johnfklee

Beauty

Beauty is just the physical manifestation of the soul 

©johnfklee 

For Paris 2015.11.13

For Paris 2015.11.13 attacks 

I am angry

For the pain caused

I am hurt 

For the taking of lives 

I am scared 

For my sons' and this world's future

I am unbowed

For I will not give into fear

©johnfklee

Warrior

I am the warrior

Who stands at the front

I am the warrior who fights
And dies
Not for glory but for hope

I stand for my country

I stand for my beliefs
Even when they do not agree

I stand
For the man or woman standing next to me

Because I fight to live
Not to kill
Because I fight for life
Not for death

I will stand and fight
And when not able
I will crawl
To my comrade
To cover or to offer my brotherhood
During death

I will drape my body over his
To protect him
I will give my blood
My sweat
My tears
My life
For those at my side
And you all benefit from my sacrifice
Our sacrifices

I will fight at the front
I will fight to get back to the front
When wounded
Or scared
Or exhausted
I will fight

If they take my leg
I will get another one
If they take my arm or my eye
The Gods gave me two

I am the Warrior
I stand at your door to protect you
And ask little of you in return
While at the Front or
Upon my return

I do not want your pity
Warriors have no room for that
I do not want your charity
I have earned my keep
I do not want your praise
I did not fight for recognition

I want your love
Because, for love of my country
I am a warrior
I want your respect
From respect for freedom
Your freedom
I fight
I want your acceptance
Of who I am and who I became
To stand and fight
And I want to be welcome home
If I walk or roll
Or am carried by comrades
I want to be welcome home

But mostly
I want you to stand
And fight
Not with weapons
With your voices
As I and my brothers and sisters have fought
For our lives
For our homes
For our rights and country and neighbors and ourselves
I want you to stand and fight for us
For all of us

I am the warrior
Who has stood at your door
And faced the gates of hell
I stepped forward among us
As have my brothers and sisters

I have fallen
Gotten up and fallen again
Stood on my own or assisted
At times I have been carried by comrades
And I the same for them

I stand now
And always will
Whether I can physically stand or not
I will stand against the tides
I will stand with the living
Or the dead

I will stand
The Warrior
For Right
For Honor
For Freedom and Country
I will stand as I have always stood
For I am a Warrior

©johnfklee

No answer

No answer

Is for worse than, "No"

For an answer

It means you lack the courage and conviction

To believe your own answer 

©johnfklee